Chemical-Mechanical polishing (CMP) is used extensively in the manufacture of semiconductor devices. An exemplary CMP system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,081,421 entitled IN SITU MONITORING TECHNIQUE AND APPARATUS FOR CHEMICAL/MECHANICAL PLANARIZATION ENDPOINT DETECTION, issued to Miller et al. and dated Jan. 14, 1992. This patent is incorporated herein by reference for its teachings on chemical mechanical polishing. FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate a substrate 500 positioned in a carrier fixture 510 for chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). The substrate 500 is, for example, a six inch wafer which is produced having a flat edge 502. The carrier fixture 510 is mounted in a chemical mechanical polisher (not shown). The carrier fixture 510 holds the substrate 500 in opening 515 during the CMP process and allows the substrate 500 to rotate. The carrier fixture 510 includes transport channels 520 that allow a slurry to be channeled from the exterior of the carrier fixture 510 to the opening 515 where the substrate 500 is disposed during the CMP process. In other words, the transport channels 520 are openings from the exterior of the carrier fixture 510 to the opening 515. During the CMP process using the carrier fixture 510, the substrate 500 may be damaged and, therefore, must be discarded. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to develop a CMP process that reduces the occurrence of damage to the substrate.